After what was basically an off week, boxing returns with four shows of note. We have a title fight in Japan, a Golden Boy on ESPN, a pretty big show in Belfast headlined by Carl Frampton and Tyson Fury in separate bouts, as well as a Top Rank show to close the weekend.
Thursday, August 16th
Ryosuke Iwasa (25-2, 16 KOs) v TJ Doheny (19-0, 14 KOs), IBF Super Bantamweight titles – Tokyo, Japan
Well regarded Irish-Australian prospect TJ Doheny goes on the road in an effort to pick up his first world title against Ryosuke Iwasa. It certainly seems like Doheny has a weak titleholder ripe for the picking here in Iwasa, but then again traveling to fight in Japan against a favorite local fighter is a big challenge in itself. Unfortunately, I am confident in saying that there will not be US TV for this fight. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find it after the fact though.
Friday, August 17th
Andrew Cancio (18-4-2, 14 KOs) v Dardan Zenunaj (14-4, 11 KOs), junior lightweights & Yoshihiro Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KOs) v Greg Vendetti (19-2-1, 12 KOs), junior middleweights – Indio, California – ESPN2, 11 PM Eastern
Golden Boy’s low level ESPN series lands back on ESPN2 with a pretty resounding thud come late Friday night. New promotional signing Andrew Cancio is a solid midlevel fighter, but he’s matched weak here and is far from an attraction on his own anyway. Former action hero Yoshihiro Kamegai does return in the co-main event at least. The Japanese brawler has been out of the ring for about a year since getting beat on by Miguel Cotto on HBO. He’s taken some real punishment in his career and might be there for the taking if Greg Vendetti has anything in him. I don’t know Vendetti, but it should be noted that he has won his last 15 after starting 4-2-1.
Saturday, August 18th
Carl Frampton (25-1, 14 KOs) v Luke Jackson (16-0, 7 KOs), featherweights & Tyson Fury (26-0, 19 KOs) v Francesco Pianeta (35-4, 21 KOs), heavyweights & Cristofer Rosales (27-3, 18 KOs) v Paddy Barnes (5-0, 1 KO), WBC flyweight title – Belfast, Northern Ireland – BT Sport, Showtime’s Youtube & Facebook, 4 PM Eastern
Carl Frampton takes a stay busy fight against Australian Olympian Luke Jackson at home in Windsor Park to headline the weekend. This is one of those fights where it is probably a mismatch, but truth be told we don’t really know what level Luke Jackson is at. So… maybe it could be a good fight? I will say this: I don’t like how Frampton has both seemed enraged by Jackson’s relatively minor trash talk while at the same time openly looking past him. The Irish star does seem erratic and out of focus. Speaking of erratic behavior, former heavyweight king Tyson Fury has the second fight of his comeback tour in the co-main event. This time he fights a full sized heavyweight in Pianeta, but it still won’t be competitive as the Italian has folded against all top competition. Finally, if you’re wondering why a 5-0 fighter is getting a title shot in the third featured fight, it is because Paddy Barnes is a three time Olympian and two time bronze medalist. I still think he gets smashed here against a surging Rosales, but as a 31 year old flyweight the time is probably now to try anyway. BT Sport has this one in the UK, while Showtime will be streaming it on their social media platforms stateside. No subscription necessary.
Bryant Jennings (23-2, 13 KOs) v Alexander Dimitrenko (41-3, 26 KOs), heavyweights & Jesse Hart (24-1, 20 KOs) v Mike Gavronski (24-2-1, 15 KOs), super middleweights – Atlantic City, New Jersey – ESPN, 10 PM Eastern
Top Rank serves up the weekend’s night cap, but it is more like a Natty Lite than a nice glass of scotch. Bryant Jennings and Jesse Hart are both contenders at their weights, but both have also been consistently matched weak by Top Rank. That’s been fine when they are on the prelims or sometimes even in the co-main event. Here, however, they are the entire show. Dimitrenko is a former fringe contender who has been exposed a few times now while Gavronski is just a regional level guy. I’m happy to see boxing back in Atlantic City for the second consecutive week here, but that is about it. The ESPN+ prelims start at 7 and feature the likes of Jason Sosa, Shakur Stevenson, Oleksandr Teslenko, and more.
